Denomination

Saint Andrews Reformed Presbyterian Church is a member church of the John Knox Presbytery.

Churches

Saint Andrews Reformed Presbyterian ChurchJohn Knox
John Knox, after whom our presbytery is named, is considered the greatest reformer in the history of the church of Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews and worked as a notary-priest. Influenced by early church reformers, he joined the movement to reform the Scottish church. In 1547 Knox was taken prisoner by French forces and exiled to England.

While in exile, Knox was licensed to work in the Church of England, where he quickly rose in the ranks to serve the King of England, Edward VI, as a royal chaplain. In this position, he exerted a reforming influence on the text of the Book of Common Prayer. When Mary Tudor ascended the throne and reestablished Roman Catholicism, Knox was forced to resign his position and leave the country.

Knox moved to Geneva where he met John Calvin, from whom he gained experience and knowledge of Reformed theology and Presbyterian polity. He created a new order of service, which was eventually adopted by the reformed church in Scotland. He left Geneva to head the English refugee church in Frankfurt, but he was forced to leave over differences concerning the liturgy, thus ending his association with the Church of England.

On his return to Scotland, he led the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish Protestant nobility. Knox helped write the new confession of faith and the ecclesiastical order for the newly created reformed church.

Upon his death in 1572 the Earl of Mortoun, the regent of Scotland, in the presence of an immense funeral procession, proclaimed: "Here lyeth a man who in his life never feared the face of man, who hath been often threatened with dagger, but yet hath ended his dayes in peace and honour."